Tomball leaders are cracking open the books for the city’s FY 2026-27 budget, and early numbers point to higher utility bills, fresh staffing requests and a possible multi-million dollar bond for water and sewer upgrades. City staff told council their preliminary estimates show sizable hikes for water and sewer accounts along with increases tied to the trash contract, while gas rates would stay flat. Budget workshops will continue through the summer before council sets final rates and holds public hearings in August. The new fiscal year starts Oct. 1.
What residents will pay
According to a staff presentation, residential water and wastewater customers are looking at a 9.2% annual increase, while commercial accounts would see an 11.7% jump. Gas rates are projected to remain unchanged, but the solid-waste contract is expected to climb 5%.
Under that solid-waste plan, the residential base bag service would rise from $24.98 to $26.03. The 65- and 95-gallon cart fees would move from $1.84 to $1.93 per cart, and the 18-gallon recycle-bin charge would go from $1.05 to $1.10. Those figures were outlined in an early budget briefing, as reported by Community Impact.
How the budget is built
The general fund, which covers police, fire and streets, remains the city’s largest operating fund. In the FY 2026 proposed materials, the general fund is listed at roughly $39.8 million, paired with a total tax rate of $0.34094 per $100 valuation.
The city posts adopted budgets, tax-rate worksheets and supporting tables on its budgeting page so residents can see the math behind property-tax and debt-service figures. For the official tables and the city’s budget calendar, see the City of Tomball FY 2026 Budget & Tax Rate Information.
Why rates are rising - projects and debt
Staff told council that rising medical and fleet costs, combined with a slate of near-term capital projects, are driving the proposed increases. A water and wastewater rate study commissioned from Willdan and presented earlier this year recommends updating rates to cover operations, debt service and capital work such as meter replacements, sewer-main repairs and water-tower maintenance. That presentation is available online in the city’s rate-study materials.
The city’s FY 2026-30 Capital Improvement Plan also catalogs water and sewer projects planned over the coming years that would require sustained funding, as outlined in the CIP.
Staffing, compensation and next steps
On the personnel side, staff proposed seven full-time-equivalent positions or reclassifications. They also pitched a cost-of-living and merit program equal to about 7% of base pay and a potential market adjustment near 2%, which together help drive personnel-related supplemental requests.
Other major cost drivers in the briefing included roughly $1.04 million for fleet replacement and a projected 16% increase in major medical costs. Staff said preliminary findings from the compensation-and-benefits study are expected in early July.
The presentation also flagged a potential $33 million bond issue for water and wastewater projects and noted that the city plans to mitigate any tax-rate effect. Those details were outlined in the staff briefing and reported by Community Impact.
What residents can do
The budget team will keep meeting internally and hold formal council workshops in July before council sets rates and schedules public hearings in August. The city calendar lists upcoming workshops and packet materials.
Residents can review agenda packets and meeting videos on the city’s council calendar and submit comments as the process moves forward through the City of Tomball meeting portal.
